Week 10 Final Project Submission

Click the link above to submit your assignment.

Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center.

Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.

Final Project: Project Plan

Due Week 10 and worth 300 points

This assignment consists of three (3) sections: a written project plan, a revised Gantt chart or project plan, and a project plan PowerPoint presentation. You must submit the three (3) sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the section of the assignment for which it is written. Additionally, you may create and / or assume all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

While taking all business and project parameters into consideration, make quality assumptions to support the following requirements.

Section 1: Written Project Plan

You are now in the final stage of the project plan development. All previous documentation will be combined into one (1) document that will serve as the statement of work for the project. Your goal is to have the project approved by the executive team and the venture capital group. The project plan is very detailed which is appropriate to accomplish the monumental task of implementation. However, the executive team is only interested in a ten (10) minute summation. Therefore, you also must create a compelling executive summary that is supported by your detail that convinces the executive group that your solution is optimal.

1. Write an eight to ten (8-10) page executive summary in which you provide a high-level technical overview of your project where you address the following:

a.

a. Describe the scope of the project and control measures.

b. Describe the goals and objectives of the project.

c. Give a detailed, realistically estimated cost analysis of the entire project.

d. Relate the value of the project plan solution to the competitive advantage that information technology will afford your organization.

e. Provide all aspects of the information technology implementation into the project plan.

f. Use at least five (5) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· This course requires use of 

Strayer Writing Standards (SWS)

. The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

· Include charts or diagrams created in MS Visio and MS Project as appendix of the Word document. Make reference of these files in the body of the Word document.

Section 2: Revised Gantt Chart / Project Plan

Use Microsoft Project or an open source alternative, such as Open Project, to:

2. Update the Gantt chart or project plan (summary and detail) template, from Project Deliverable 4: Infrastructure and Security, with all the project tasks.

Section 3: Project Plan PowerPoint Presentation

Additional to your detailed executive summary you must present your findings to the executive team and the venture capital group that, along with the executive summary, will convince the group that your solution is optimal.

3. Create a ten to fifteen (10-15) slide PowerPoint presentation in which you:

a. Illustrate the concepts from your written report in Section 1 of this assignment.

b. Create bulleted speaking notes for your presentation to the executive board in the Notes section of the PowerPoint. Note: You may create or assume any fictitious names, data, or scenarios that have not been established in this assignment for a realistic flow of communication.

c. Use a professional technically written style to graphically convey the information.

1

OnBuy E-Commerce Project: Infrastructure and Security Policy Document

Tom Anderson

Professor Urimindi

February 28, 2021

OnBuy E-Commerce Project: Infrastructure and Security Policy Document

a. Logical and Physical Typographical Layout of the Network

Table 1

Logical Diagram

Table 2

Physical Network Typographical Diagram

b. Possible Placement of Servers

The e-commerce platform will utilize multiple servers to provide products and services on the internet. The utilization of many servers plays an integral role in improving the performance and robustness of a network system (Sahoo et al., 2016). Therefore, the number, location, and distribution of the servers significantly influence the performance and reliability of the e-commerce platform. In this case, the server placement will be determined based on the need to distribute service requests to the servers according to the measured response time of each server. As the internet is projected to grow phenomenally in the next few years, the increasing number of services on the internet will become indispensable to the company’s clients. Thus, the organization will provide its products and services on the internet using multiple servers in order to improve performance and robustness. For that reason, server placement will be an important factor in the quality of the firm’s services.

While the best-server selection will be assumed for the firm’s server placement, it will not necessarily be the case for many services that the company will use, such as the Domain Name System. Thus, different selection mechanisms will inform the process of placing servers. For all the user groups to receive good performance, it will be important to place servers close to them since some servers could be very far on the internet. Additionally, the availability of services will be increased by enabling the users to switch to an alternative server if needed. In case the nearest server fails, or its performance declines, the users will need to choose another server to continuously receive the services in good quality.

The organization will collaborate with internet service providers to provide effective system-wide performance. Load-sharing among the servers will also be considered an important part of the server placement process than the performance from the administrator’s perspective. Thus, there will be a need to take an additional server to minimize the load of heavily loaded servers. The location of the new servers will be selected in a way that distributes the service load appropriately. Moreover, it will be necessary to take into consideration the potential impacts of the placement on the performance as perceived by the users as well. This implies that the server placement process will not sacrifice the overall system’s performance due to the loading distribution.

The placement process will be guided by server selection algorithms. When sets of servers for the organization are available, the potential users may select one of the servers. As such, different mechanisms will be employed to select a server for use. These include the best server algorithm, uniform algorithm, and reciprocal algorithm. The best-server algorithm measures the conditions of the servers and selects one as the best server for users. This tool can use round-trip, the number of hops, or other forms of network distance. The best server algorithm can be selected from such measurement indicators. It is also optimal in performance but hard to control the load-sharing. The uniform algorithm, on the other hand, will be employed to select all the servers uniformly. This can be attained by employing round-robin or random selection processes and does not require utilizing any metric. This algorithm will be easy to implement because it plays an integral role in load sharing. Further, the reciprocal algorithm will be employed to select a server with a probability reciprocal to some metrics. In this respect, the access probability to each server is often a function of some metrics. In case the distance is utilized as a metric, for example, a near server can be used more frequently than a far one, and the two are located at the same distance are used equally. This method is adaptive in fluctuating server conditions because the selection is often dynamically determined by the fluctuation.

c. The Rationale for the Logical and Physical Topographies

There are various reasons for the adoption of the logical and physical topographical layout of the planned network. The physical topology will define the real structuring of the network. In contrast, the logical topology will describe the communication mechanisms that the devices will utilize on the local area network (LAN) for the purpose of data transmission. Moreover, the physical topology will clarify how the network looks and functions in the real-world. In contrast, its logical topology will describe how data will travel in the e-commerce system logistically. Additionally, the physical topology that has been used employs both bus and ring topology, while the logical typography utilizes bus topology alone (Truppel et al., 2020). Furthermore, the physical topology is based on physical connections such as cables and wires. The logical one, on the other hand, is founded on the path that data travels in a network system. The physical topology affects the costs, scalability, flexibility, and bandwidth capacity of the network. This is because it defines the number of servers that will be installed and the necessary resources that are required to develop and adopt it.

In the organization’s logical topology, the data will travel linearly in the network, similar to bus topology. This implies that when the devices are linked inside the network using a hub, the real physical network will appear similar to a star topology. When connected with the utilization of a hub, the network becomes shared media, and data travels linearly, as with bus topology. In the platform’s physical topology, the signals will propagate along the entire length of the bus. The logical topology will work to allow all the devices on the network to receive every message that is transmitted. In this respect, each device will be responsible for recognizing the messages meant for it all. In case a device is not the authorized receiver, the message is ignored.

The network operates well when it has a clearly defined physical topology. Utilizing it also makes it easier to find the media type to be used in a network. Physical topology also makes it easier to perform network routing through the cables. In case the nodes are not shared, the routes may not be established easily. Through the physical topology, the organization will create datasets with better quality control and integrity. These datasets will be easily validated, and the errors that are detected will be found in them. Such a process helps in the efficacious management of the data. Moreover, the physical typography also enables the network administrators to easily find the relationships between the topologies and the elements shared with each type of topology. As a result, it enables the editing of one database and updating the features with other datasets. All such sets are synchronized with each other, and the systems and devices are kept close to each other with the support of topology as the cables and the features are connected. The interconnection of the systems plays an integral role in the efficacious management of the network.

d. Network Security Policy Document

i. Policy

Preamble

OnBuy acknowledges the important role that information technology plays in bringing people together and making products accessible to all. However, we also recognize the danger that digital networks’ widespread adoption poses to their users and organizations. A safe environment is important in preventing fraudulent activities that result in adverse events such as theft of customer financial data, hacking, denial of network service attacks, and alteration or deletion of data by unauthorized parties. Thus, the purpose of this policy is to protect the integrity of the organization’s network, prevent the risks and losses related to security threats and breaches, and ensure that there are secure and reliable network access and performance for the entire OnBuy community. Therefore, this policy paper is essential in providing a reliable organizational network, support seamless business operations, and mitigate unauthorized access to corporate, research, and personal data.

Securing the Domain Services

1. The organization’s network administrators are solely responsible for the management of internet domain names associated with it. Thus, employees and other user groups shall not develop or support additional internet domains without prior approval from the company.

2. To guarantee the stability and reliability of the communication systems, the network administrator will provide and manage both the public and private IP address spaces that are in use by the company.

3. These administrative tasks may be delegated to individuals or organizations for defined network ranges but remains the right of ownership for such networks.

Network Security

1. OnBuy shall investigate any unauthorized access of computer networks, systems, or devices. The company will also collaborate with professionals, administrative departments, and law enforcers when necessary.

2. All the devices that will be connected to the network will have sufficient security controls that will be introduced and configured to prohibit unauthorized access or misuse of data.

3. In the event that a security breach is detected, it will be the responsibility of OnBuy’s network users to report the issues to the IT department for further investigations.

4. OnBuy reserves the right to disconnect any system or device from accessing its network if suspicious activities are detected from it at any given moment.

5. Network user groups that are evaluated and deemed as secure will be permitted to continue utilizing out system. However, suspicious activities, such as access or attaching unauthorized network devices will be blocked. These activities may include packet sniffing, snooping, and installing a system that appears to be like another authorized system on the network.

Confidentiality

1. The company believes in protecting the privacy of all users.

2. Therefore, we will protect all the customer data from disclosure to third parties or unauthorized individuals and groups.

3. Employees are banned from sharing private customer data such as their credit card and socials security details to unauthorized parties.

4. All confidential data will be locked or secured at all times and will not be taken outside the firm’s premises.

5. Data will only be disclosed to others upon seeking permission from users or senior management.

Integrity

1. To promote data integrity, the organization will take various steps, such as:

a. Qualifying and validating the system.

b. Archiving regularly

c. Selecting appropriate systems and service providers

d. Regularly auditing the trails.

Monitoring and Auditing

1. The company will continually monitor and audit traffic logs for all the network devices and tools for security purposes.

2. OnBuy reserves the right to examine, access, retrieve, and disclose data communications when it has sufficient reasonable cause to suspect a federal or organizational policy violation or criminal activities have occurred.

3. The company may perform regular penetration testing of any of its owned devices or reduces to determine the potential risks that are related to safeguarding its information systems.

Security Controls

1. The company has introduced network security controls to mitigate potential security breaches.

2. Technical controls will include use of multifactor authentication, intrusion detection and prevention systems, antivirus software, firewalls, encryption, as well as access control lists.

3. Physical controls will include use of surveillance cameras, biometric identification, security personnel, and strong locks and fencing systems.

ii. Ethical Aspects

The ethical issues that may arise include sharing of passwords and keys with unauthorized people. In case people who have been entrusted with the passwords of their departments or areas of jurisdiction share their passwords with unauthorized individuals, there is the risk of access of vital information by the unauthorized individuals, which presents privacy concerns (Stahl & Wright, 2018). Unauthorized individuals can steal vital information such as patent rights or misuse stakeholders’ information, including their health and financial information. When such sensitive information is accessed by malicious individuals, they will steal from the stakeholders, including the organization, which will lower their confidence in the company and sue for compensation and breach of privacy. Besides, crucial organizational information can be leaked to competitors, thereby reducing the company’s competitiveness. For instance, if contractors accidentally access procurement data, they can use the information to manipulate the company for financial gains or to win tenders unfairly.

Access to the organization’s network information is restricted to the authorized people alone. In case employees or any other stakeholders share the network key, the company will be at risk of having its confidential information leaked to wrong parties, including competitors and fraudsters (Stahl & Wright, 2018). The organization’s plans and patented information will then be used maliciously to the peril of the company. Therefore, it is crucial for all employees and the stakeholders who know passwords maintain discretion regarding unauthorized sharing. Employees are not expected to share the access passwords for their departments with unauthorized people who include fellow employees working for the company but are in different departments. Additionally, the organization’s passwords are not to be shared by outsiders who include but are not limited to the employees’ friends and families to avert possible ethical concerns that may arise due to unauthorized access to the organization’s network.

References

Sahoo, J., Salahuddin, M. A., Glitho, R., Elbiaze, H., & Ajib, W. (2016). A survey on replica

server placement algorithms for content delivery networks. IEEE Communications

Surveys & Tutorials, 19(2), 1002-1026.

Stahl, B. C., & Wright, D. (2018). Ethics and privacy in AI and big data: Implementing

responsible research and innovation. IEEE Security & Privacy, 16(3), 26-33.

Truppel, A., Tseng, T. M., Bertozzi, D., Alves, J. C., & Schlichtmann, U. (2020). PSION+:

Combining logical topology and physical layout optimization for Wavelength-Routed

ONoCs. IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and

Systems, 39(12), 5197-5210.

DATABASE AND PROGRAMMING DESIGN 1

Database and Programming Design

Tom Anderson

Professor Urimindi

February 14, 2021

Table of Contents

A. Database Schema That Supports the Company’s Business and Processes…………………..3

B. Explanation of the Database Schema…………………………………………………………3

C. Database Tables……………………………………………………………………………….4

D. Normalize the Database Tables to Third Normal Form (3NF)………………………………9

E. Create an Entity-Relationship (E-R) Diagram………………………………………….……10

F. Explaining Rationale behind the Design of the E-R Diagram……………………….………11

G. Data Flow Diagram (DFD)……………………………………………………………….….12

H. Explaining the Rationale behind the Design of the DFD……………………………………13

I. Two (2) Sample Queries………………………………………………………………………13

J. Two (2) Screen Layouts ………………………………………………………………………14

K. References…………………………………………………………………………………….15

Part One: Database and Programming Design

a. Database Schema that Supports the Company’s Business Processes

b. Explanation of the Database Schema

The process of developing OnBuy’s e-commerce website may encounter challenges due to a lack of database standards that define the design and application of the database systems. To avoid the challenge of a lack of database, this particular project will be guided by a database schema based on the Database Task Group (DBTG) standards. Therefore, the above database schema comprises three major components: a database schema, a subschema, and a database management language. A schema refers to the database’s conceptual organization as viewed by the Database Administrator (Angrish et al., 2017). It includes a definition of the database name, the type of each record, and the components, which are the fields or columns that make up the records. The above database schema has entities and their respective attributes. Entities refer to the essential items in any data model. It is a thing or an object in the real world that can be distinguished from all other objects. Entities can be viewed as the real-world atomic item. For example, in the above schema, entities include an invoice, address, credit card, and user account.

Each of the uniquely identifiable instances of an entity type in the diagram is an entity occurrence or entity instance. Each entity has a name and a list of properties, as indicated in Figure 1. For instance, the properties of credit card include credit card number, holder’s name, and the expiry date. Therefore, while each entity type of attributes, they will alcove their values for each attribute. Additionally, each entity will have relationships with others. For instance, the relationship between invoice and user satisfaction allows the system to compute the purchasing rates, which include the number of sessions that emerge from the invoice, and eventually, an actual order.

c. Database Tables with Appropriate Field Naming Conventions

A database table refers to a collection of stored data that are managed by the database management system. Figure 3 shows the table that comprises different entities and their respective lists of attributes. For example, the customer entity includes different sets of features, such as customer ID, address, first name, last name, age, and billing address. Similarly, the payment entity encompasses attributes such as payment ID and payment type. The table also shows that entities have different types of keys. Keys are attributes that can enable a database administrator to identify rows in a relational table. In so doing, they enable professionals to determine the relationship between two tables and help to distinctively determine a row in a table by a combination of one or more columns within that particular table.

One of the most prominent keys in a table and refers to a minimal set of attributes that distinctly identifies the rows or entity. For instance, in the above table, the main attribute that uniquely identifies the customer entity is the customer ID. Therefore it is the primary key. Other attributes, such as customer name and age, do not fall under primary keys. The customer name alone cannot qualify as a primary key since more than one customer may have the same name. In the same vein, the customer’s age alone cannot be a primary key because more than one customer may have the same age. Therefore, the only key that uniquely identifies the customer is the customer ID because each customer has a distinct ID that can identify their records in the table.

Another defining characteristic of primary keys is that they are columns or groups of columns that distinctly identify every row in the table of the relational database management system. It cannot be duplicated, implying that the same value should never appear more than once in the table. Primary keys may not necessarily be a single attribute in a column. On the contrary, a set of columns can make up a primary key. For example, in the following table, a combination of customer ID and customer name collectively identifies the tuple in the above table. It cannot be chosen as a primary key alone because customer ID is sufficient to identify rows in a table distinctively and always go for the minimal set. It is important to select more than one column that can distinctly identify the entity in a table in light of the above.

Another example of an entity with a primary key in the table is ORDER. This table stores the daily records of the purchases that customers make. For instance, the table has three attributes, which include Customer ID, Product ID, and Order Quantity. Customer ID alone cannot be a primary key because a single customer may place more than one order, thereby, more than one row of the same customer ID value. For instance, in the table, a customer may place two or more orders with different product IDs. Thus, product ID alone cannot be a primary key because more than one customer can place an order for the same product, thus more than a single row with the same product ID. For instance, in the table, two or more different customer IDs may place the same order for the same product. Furthermore, order quantity alone may not act as the primary key because more than one customer can place the order for the same quantity. Considering that one of the attributes alone can become a primary key, it is essential to explore a set of attributes that play the primary key role. For instance, a combination of customer ID and Product ID can identify the rows uniquely in the table, thereby setting a primary key for the table.

Apart from the primary keys, the tables also have their respective foreign keys. A foreign key can be defined as a column that creates relationships between two or more tables. Its purpose is to maintain data integrity and facilitate easy navigation between two different instances of an entity. Doing so serves as a cross-reference between two tables as it references the primary key of another table. Every relationship within a database is often supported by a foreign key. Hence, a foreign key also acts as an attribute whose value matches the primary key. For instance, the customer ID is the primary key in the customer table, but it also occurs as a foreign key in the product table. This implies that a foreign key acts as the columns of a table that points to another table’s primary key. In so doing, it acts as a cross-reference between the tables. For instance, in the Product ID table, the customer ID acts as a foreign key because it points to the primary key of the Customer table.

The foreign may have a key that has nothing to do with another table’s primary key tag. In this respect, if it points to a unique column of another table, then it will also act as the foreign key. In light of the above, the correct definition of a foreign key is a column of a table that points to another table’s candidate key. Thus, while selecting a set of attributes for a primary key, it is essential to choose the minimal background with a minimum number of attributes. For instance, if two sets can identify a row in a table, the set that has a minimum number of attributes should be chosen as the primary key.

From these evaluations, it is essential to explore the differences between primary and foreign keys. A primary key constraint is a column that distinctly identifies every row in the relational database system’s table. In contrast, a foreign key is a column that establishes a relationship between the two tables. Moreover, primary keys never accept null values, while foreign keys may accommodate multiple null values. Additionally, a table can only have a single primary key, whereas the same table can accommodate multiple foreign keys.

Additionally, the primary key’s value may not be removed from the parent table, while the value of foreign keys can be removed from the child table. Similarly, no two rows should have any identical values of a primary key. On the other hand, a foreign key can comprise duplicate values. Finally, there are no limits to the insertion of the values into the table column. Including any value in the foreign key table goes a long way in ensuring that such matters are present in a primary key column.

Achieving referential Integrity

Referential integrity is one of the essential global constraints in relational databases. It ensures that the foreign key value exists in the referenced relations. Common referential integrity issues are often found in database integration, data quality assurance, warehousing, and data modeling. Such integrity may be violated or relaxed for practical reasons. However, database integration represents a common situation in which similar tables emerging from multiple data sources have different referential integrity constraints. Each DBMS provides unique mechanisms and rules to enforce referential integrity (Wei et al., 2019). Thus, source databases may violate referential integrity, and their integration may unravel additional referential integrity problems.

Various steps will be taken to address the referential integrity of the database system. For instance, the database will be adjusted to ensure that a foreign key has a matching primary key or null. This constraint will be specified between two tables: the parent and the child. It will be adjusted to maintain the correspondence between rows in these tables. This will imply that the reference from a row in one table to another must be valid. To ensure that no orphan records exist, referential integrity will be enforced. An orphan record is one whose foreign key value is not found in the corresponding entity, the entity where the primary key is located. The referential integrity constraint states that the Order table’s customer ID must match a valid Customer ID in that Customer table.

d. Normalizing the Data Table to Third Normal Form Normalized Customer Table

Student ID

Product ID

Amount

Normalized Product Table

Product ID

Order ID

Customer ID

Weight

Normalized Orders Table

Customer ID

Amount

Orders ID

e. Entity Relationship Diagram

f. Explanation of the Relationship

The entity-attribute definitions only show the essential meanings of real-world items, which are the entities. In the real world, however, the items may have relationships to each other. For instance, a product is provided by the organization for a customer. The association or relationship between the entities relates data items to each other in a meaningful manner (Panneerselvam, 2019). This data relationship is often captured by the database schema or model if the resulting database is to be a reasonable depiction of the real-world entities that it models. The link between two or more entities is defined by the existence of data association.

Various forms of relationships are present in the above entity relationship diagram. For instance, the Order entity is related to the Product entity in many ways. The Order entity has attributes for the Product entity. Thus, these relationships are employed to support the database in conceptualizing how data are to be used within the database. Usually, the name of the relationship is an active verb. For instance, if a customer orders a product, the relationship between Customer and Product is the verb “order.” Similarly, if a Customer pays for a product, then the relationship between Customer and Payment is the verb “pays.”

g. Dataflow Diagram

User

Seller
Customer

Payment
Order Details
Category
Product
Orders
Shipment Details
h. Explaining the Rationale Behind the DFD
A dataflow diagram is a depiction of any procedure or system’s flow of information. It maps out the processes or system’s data flow, thereby helping systems administrators understand the processes or systems. Moreover, it can guide the process of implementing new processes or systems. The two types of DFDs include logical and physical. The former displays the theoretical processes of moving information via a system, where the data stems from, including how to changes and where it ends up (Chopra, 2018). The latter, on the other hand, indicates the practical processes of moving data through a system. In this DFD, for example, the Customer is the source of information. The data store and the payment system are examples of destinations of the information.
i. Sample Queries

Query 1
SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE Last_Name=’Smith’;
The Result of the query is the following table:
+———+———–+————+
| Cust_No | Last_Name | First_Name |
+———+———–+————+
| 1001 | Smith | John |
| 2039 | Smith | David |
| 2098 | Smith | Matthew |
+———+———–+————+
3 rows in set (0.05 sec)
Query 2
SELECT Cust_No, First_Name FROM Customers WHERE Last_Name=’Smith’;
Result of the query:
+————+————+
| First_Name | Nickname |
+————+————+
| Ben | Brainiac |
| Glen | Peabrain |
| Steven | Nobrainer |
+————+————+
j. At Least Two Screen Layouts

Layout 1

Layout 2

References
Angrish, A., Starly, B., Lee, Y. S., & Cohen, P. H. (2017). A flexible data schema and system
architecture for the virtualization of manufacturing machines (VMM). Journal of

Manufacturing Systems, 45, 236-247.
Chopra, R. (2018). Database Management System (DBMS) A Practical Approach. S. Chand
Publishing.
Panneerselvam, R. (2019). Database Management Systems. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Wei, Z., Leck, U., & Link, S. (2019). Entity integrity, referential integrity, and query
optimization with embedded uniqueness constraints. In 2019 IEEE 35th International

Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE) (pp. 1694-1697). IEEE.

OnBuy E-COMMERCE PROJECT 2

OnBuy E-COMMERCE PROJECT PROPOSAL

Tom Anderson

Professor Urimindi

February 1, 2021

Contents
DEFINITONS 3
PROJECT SCOPE 4
Project Justification 4
Product Scope 4

Business Objectives and Project Goals

6

PROJECT SCOPE

CONTROL 7

RISKS

9
CONSTRAINTS 9
SYSTEM INTEGRATION 10

Data Integration

10
Network and Security Integration 11

References

: 12

DEFINITIONS

· API: Application Programming Interface-a computer application that facilitates the interaction between software intermediaries

· CMS: Content Management System is a software that facilitates the management of the information and data on the website, as well as the creation of new websites

· Data Integration: It is the process of combining a database, or several databases with an already built website

· Database Management System: A system software used in the management of data, including the process of cataloging, running queries, storage, and retrieval of data

· Interface Design: the process of modeling and building the interaction outlook of software, or an application

· LAN: Local Area Network- a system of interconnected computer nodes within a defined location, such as a building

PROJECT SCOPE

Project Justification

OnBuy is an eCommerce business startup aiming at the sale of goods through an online platform. The eCommerce starts up intends to develop an online platform that will facilitate the sale of goods. OnBuy will adopt a business to consumer and business to a business model. The placing of orders and the sale of goods will be to other businesses and consumers, respectively. The business’s primary requirements will involve the development of a website with an online catalog, the design and the development of a database, and the necessary networking infrastructure to support the business. Additionally, there will be a need for physical stores facilitating warehousing services; and effective supply chain management to deliver the goods to the customers.

For the above reasons, OnBuy is transitioning its services to an online platform, which will harbor its information systems. This fit will be achieved through three tiers in the project. The first will involve the design, creation, and installation of a database management system, which will serve as the central point of management for the eCommerce business. The second will involve creating an onsite information management system composed of a detailed and extensive graphical interface designed to support all the required eCommerce services. The third tier will include developing network infrastructure and security policy that will sustain the information management system.

Product Scope

The database management system will be the primary transitioning of the startup business. The necessitated online platform will require an information management system, and the central focus for the information management system is the database. This involves the method and infrastructure definition for managing file storage, file access, file manipulation, and the storage and running of the various applications (Lim, 2006). The central management point of the system will be stored in the server. Therefore, this tier will digitalize the OnBuy filing system, including website files, online product catalogs. Additionally, the data management design will determine the different rules and mechanisms allowed for access and manipulation and of the digital data. This database management phase will form the foundation for the development of the other phases of the project.

The second tier involves developing a detailed graphical user interface, which will be the premise for interaction between the users and the database management system. The graphical user interface will include the design and development of the eCommerce website. This innovation will integrate the needs of the customer with the different customer catalogs presented on the website. The website will serve several purposes, including order placing, where the customers will have a platform to select products of their choice and proceed to the cart. At the cart, transaction API’s will be integrated to support the online payment processing. Secondly, the website will include the APIs that will be used to manage. This information will be necessary for the data revolution, where it will be employed as input data for the recommender systems utilized on the eCommerce website (Li & He, 2017). Recommendation systems will be imperative in building customer profiles, the pricing process, and creating customer preference (Scholz et al., 2017).

The communication between the different computers and servers will be enabled in the third phase of the project. The communication will include, peer to peer communication and server-client communications. Therefore, the last phase will be the design, development, and installation of the networking system. The networking infrastructure will make it possible the increasing the robustness of the centrally managed database. The main activities will include building a logical network topology, the network’s physical topology. The developed network will then be installed and integrated with the other modules.

Business Objectives and Project Goals

The grand objective of the project is to build an eCommerce platform for the OnBuy business startup. The project, however, results in other beneficial packages to the OnBuy. These include the reduced number of manhours required, owing to less paperwork within the office environment. The developed software will enhance digital business management, cutting down on the initially planned operational costs in both time and labor. Since most management operations will be done on the digital platform, the management team intends to shift management time to other crucial management activities such as decision making. The business’s digital management will increase operational stability because of the increased service standardization and flow of processes. Increased service standardization will consequently guarantee customer consistency for OnBuy.

OnBuy will employ digital services to ascertain high accuracy and transparency, errors that would have otherwise resulted in human error and manual data management. Technology has remained an ever-advancing and dynamic field (Connolly-Barker et al., 2020). Implementing it at startup ascertains that the business stays aligned to the trending and necessary technology, hence remaining technologically and economically relevant.

The strategic goals of OnBuy include the maintenance of a competitive edge in the online stores. This goal is achieved through key performance indicators, including integrating technology in their daily operations and adopting an eCommerce model of business. Additionally, OnBuy intends to utilize the power of data through the adoption of business intelligence techniques and data science, premised on the vast amount of data that will be collected on their websites. This goal will be achieved through enhancing the transaction and customer data databases and processing them for imperative information. Thirdly, the business intends to offer customers a higher degree of security for their transactions, and this is catered for by the third module of the project. The project, therefore, combines its scope with the strategic goals of the startup business.

PROJECT SCOPE CONTROL

During the preliminary stages of the project development, the presumption that the project scope should not change. However, since the project scope is majorly theoretical, changes arise during the project development and implementation. It is hence crucial to develop a strategy of change management. While change is inevitable, managing the change ensures the relationship between the clients and the project team is maintained, and the needs of the client are fully catered for. In this project, the scope is controlled using five major parameters.

The initial parameter involves the need for a well-defined scope statement. A good project scope statement warrants that all the project stakeholders are aware of their tasks and the project’s expected goals. The second parameter involves the clear definition of the requirements, in both the tangible and the intangible assets. In this instance, the requirement traceability matrix will be used to define the project requirements and the various changes in the requirements in the courses of the project. The matrix will be employed to track the different requirements and map them to the necessary project deliverables (Shiraz et al., 2017). The project manager has the responsibility of guaranteeing and maintaining good and clear communication among all the project stakeholders. Direct and open communication ensures a clear flow of information, and subsequently, the operations of the projects run smoothly.

During the planning process, the project involves using estimates in the design. The project scope will be controlled by guaranteeing that all the projects’ estimates are statistically rational and calculated. Using good, rational, and statistical estimates to calculate the expected financial, labor, and time costs ensures that the cost of execution remains within the primary planned costs. Strong and professional project management coupled with detailed and good project estimates results in reduced project contingencies. Into the bargain, labor and time costs will be reached without hardship on either the project management team or the client. Using the right estimates will be necessary for guaranteeing the project remains within the defined project scope.

While going through the exercise of project planning, planning on how to control the external influences of the project will be necessary. While the external influences vary in intensity, origin, and nature, they impact the project heavily. To monitor these influences, the project team will use a risk register, a list of all possible risks to the project during its execution and a statement of how such risks will be mitigated. While managing external influences does not rest solely on the project management team, awareness of the possible risks creates a platform for risk management. Conclusively, the project management team will ascertain that changes to the scope are assessed on their value addition, market needs, their return on investments, their impact on the project schedule and project estimates, and the liability they create to the end product.

RISKS

There are various possible risks in project management during project execution. Scope risks include the failure to develop well-defined goals, and the risks, therefore, jeopardize the project’s objectives and deliverables. Costs risk originates from a failure to make the right financial estimates, increasing the difference between the expected and the actual costs of the various modules and sub-modules of the project. Using the expense tracker monitors the financial costs of the project and helps evade the cost risks. Often the project exceeds the scheduled period, particularly due to the wrong time estimates or possible delays at the different phases of the project execution.

In this instance, the project is premised on technology, and various technology gaps may result in technology risks. For instance, the technology field’s dynamism may result in the development of a project that is behind in technology, particularly if the project schedule is elongated. These possible risks are evaded by making the right estimates and developing a change management team. The project management team has selected a team that will manage any big changes during project execution and ensures that the right technology is employed. While some of the risks are easily identifiable and evaded, other risks are hardly manageable. Procurement risks may result in increased financial and time costs, and in most cases, they are not predictable. The project management team will liaise with the procurement department to ascertain the procurement risks are evaded. However, miscellaneous risks will be dealt with as they arise.

CONSTRAINTS

OnBuy is a startup business, and hence it has zero data on its system users. The existence of zero data for the formulation of user-profiles is a constraint in developing the recommendation systems for the eCommerce platforms. Without primary data to build the different preferences for a personalized recommendation, users will be bombarded with a catalog of products they might not need. The suggestion of using questions to build a profile when one first enters the eCommerce platform solves the primary constraints but develops another constraint. Few users will take the time to build their profile.

Additionally, those who build their profile may use abstract information that does not portray their true product preferences, as sometimes this is implicit knowledge. Moreover, some customers may not stay on the platform long enough to build significant profiles due to the poor recommendations. Therefore, user-profiles and the preference recommendation will be low in the initial stages of using the platform until significant information is collected to model the recommendation systems.

ASSUMPTIONS

The main assumptions made in the project include the presumption that all users will use either of the two specified payment systems. The second presumption is that the business will be able to deliver goods to different customers and handle the traffic efficiently at the moment of a startup. The third presumption is that the customers will not need to return goods once sold.

SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Data Integration

As earlier mentioned, the database system will be designed and developed in the first phase. The data integration process will involve combining the graphical user interface (eCommerce website) from the second phase with the database management system. The company database will involve the use of back-end API’s, which will be employed to access and manipulate the data. The database will be managed internally on the on-premise OnBuy servers. Since the website will require third party use of web-cookies to gather information for profile development of the different users, the API’s will also be used in data combination from the different sources. The main application employed in the integration will include the searchable product directories and the content management systems (CMS). The integration processes will facilitate quick communication between the database and the interface design. Information such as product descriptions, pricing information, shipping costs, discount information, among others, is all stored in the database. Excellent integration of the eCommerce user interface and the web stores will instantly access this information at command. The back end-user interface will facilitate the change management of the catalog information, including the real-time changes accompanied by the products’ sale.

Network and Security Integration

The network infrastructure is the fabric that facilitates the communication between the various servers and nodes in the eCommerce network. The Local Area Network within the OnBuy premises will facilitate the intensive communication traffic within the network nodes. However, the LAN will be dependent on the internet for the communication between the end customers and their nodes. It is imperative to note that there have been increased security inconsistencies in the eCommerce sector in the recent past. As a solution, OnBuy will employ externally sourced security measures for their networks. Outsourcing security is both less expensive and shifts the burden of the security from OnBuy to an external vendor. Additionally, the external vendors are more experienced and up to date with internet security, and hence will offer better services. However, it will be important to develop an infrastructure and security policy that will dictate the requirements, access rights, technical guidance, and protection guidelines of how the OnBuy information will be handled within the OnBuy LAN.

References

Connolly-Barker, M., Kliestik, T., Suler, P., & Zvarikova, K. (2020). Real-Time Decision-Making in the Information Technology-driven Economy. Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 12(1), 73-79.

Li, L., & He, H. (2020). How to Implement the Commodity Publishing System in Ecommerce Platform. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 719, No. 1, p. 012002). IOP Publishing.

Lim, K. (2018). U.S. Patent No. 9,942,271. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Scholz, M., Dorner, V., Schryen, G., & Benlian, A. (2017). A configuration-based recommender system for supporting e-commerce decisions. European Journal of Operational Research, 259(1), 205-215.

Shirazi, F., Kazemipoor, H., & Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R. (2017). Fuzzy decision analysis for project scope change management. Decision Science Letters, 6(4), 395-406.

Running head: PROJECT PLAN INCEPTION 1

PROJECT PLAN INCEPTION 2

OnBuy Information Systems Report

Tom Anderson

Professor Urimindi

January 17, 2021

OnBuy is an e-commerce startup group that requires to set up its offices and network structure to ensure that it can effectively dive into the task of making commodity available to its consumers. The startup intends to move into a new environment and set up its business premises to ensure that customers’ diverse needs. Below is a description of the information systems required by OnBuy to be able to undertake its required task within the community efficiently.

Databases play a crucial role in allowing customers to place orders complemented by the virtual shop successfully. Nonetheless, databases ensure that the system operates optimally in utilizing the business logic that ensures that all the various relationships between the objects are addressed to facilitate effective reporting and data analytics. The database structure should ensure that the database structure is simple and components ability to exist individually. Nonetheless, the database design entails normalization of the tables to ensure that data redundancy is maintained, resulting in better results due to the utilization of a well-structured database. Nonetheless, various architectures play a vital role in ensuring that some of the database updates are efficiently undertaking the event-driven placing of an order using the shopping cart. A well-structured database will ensure that the organizational inventory can perform analytics reports regarding which commodities are highly purchased by the customers.
System analysis entails ensuring that the software can be successfully deployed into the organization’s operations to ensure that the customers’ diverse business wants are satisfied (Duran, 2018). Therefore, it is efficient for various components of the organization to be devolved to ensure that there is a database administrator and system administrator. The database administrator will allow the respective authorization to employees of the organization based on the roles they are intended to achieve while working for the organization. Equally, he is responsible for producing reports suggesting which areas of concern need to be addressed. On the other hand, the system admin will monitor the system resources and restrict access to some system and organizational resources based on the assigned employee roles by the human resources department.
System security and data security are vital in a digital era where cybercrime and denial of service attacks are rising. Therefore, as the CTO of OnBuy, I will ensure that high levels of security are maintained by ensuring that the ICT policy is constantly updated and utilizes various levels of firewalls to ensure that organizational data and customer information are securely stored. To eliminate security threats at the point of entry of the internet into the organization, a firewall is put in place to filter websites that are not required to access the organizational network. Secondly, I will ensure that employees use computers and laptops that have been configured to be accessible within the organizational network only. Lastly, I will ensure that the website utilizes secure shell protocols that enhance website security to mitigate against denial of service attacks.
On the other hand, the organizational network needs to ensure that it’s secure at all levels. This goes a long way in ensuring that the database administrator ensures that the various interactions between the user interface layer and the hardware layer efficiently communicate to ensure that real-time processing and payments can be undertaken successfully by various parties. Nonetheless, the network administrator’s task is to recommend the best gadgets and policies that will ensure that the organizational services are available to the consumers. OnBuy being an e-business, fully relies on internet connectivity to ensure that potential consumers can place orders regardless of their geographic position.
OnBuy will ensure that it employs high stands of human-computer interaction applied to the website visitors that would see them purchase products. The effective user interface is a subset of human-computer interaction that ensures that software is in such a way that is effective in meeting the desired objective. Nonetheless, a well-designed user interface would suit the varied demands of the diverse ICT adopters.
OnBuy web design will utilize the request/response architecture to allow interactions using the business logic between the application layer and the organization’s data layer. Nonetheless, the website needs to gadget-friendly in that it can automatically resize to fit the display width of the various devices that the visitors to the website use. Additionally, the corporate website utilizes the secured HTTPS to ensure the safety of the website’s visitors. Lastly, our organization conforms to global standards. Therefore, our website will have detailed terms of service documents and an ease of use document at the website’s footer.

References

Persi, E., Duran-Frigola, M., Damaghi, M., Roush, W. R., Aloy, P., Cleveland, J. L., … & Ruppin, E. (2018). Systems analysis of intracellular pH vulnerabilities for cancer therapy. Nature communications, 9(1), 1-11.

Newman, M. E. (2018). Network structure from rich but noisy data. Nature Physics, 14(6), 542-545.